N.O Oaks

rockm

The toll from the hurricane in La. is not only going to be tallied in people and property damage, but in the number of old trees it takes down.

According to news reports, the two huge old live oaks in Jackson square in front of the St. Louis cathedral were blown over. I wonder how many other giants have fallen victim...

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Aaron_K

I should imagine hundreds even thousands Rock. With winds at 165mph, not a lot would have been left standing.

Back in the 1987 hurricane that we had here in the UK, with winds of 130+ mph, the town of Sevenoaks became "oneoak". 6 of these magnificent giants that the town was named after had been felled by the storm. 7 new oaks were planted that same year.. so now its "eightoaks".

I really do hate to think how many ancient wonders have been lost .

All the best,

Aaron

tuckerg

i remember that one well Aaron,living in Kent when it hit and a few hours beforehand the weathermen telling us "hurricane,what hurricane?"

Aaron_K

lol yeah, Michael Fish the weatherman on TV

"Fishy Forecast

During a weather forecast in October 1987, British meteorologist Michael Fish told viewers that "a woman rang to say she'd heard there was a hurricane on the way. Well, don't worry," he continued, "there isn't." Brushing aside the amateur's forecast with a chuckle, Fish promised "sea breezes" and a "showery airflow."

Britain was promptly hit by 120 mph winds which ripped up 300 miles of power cables, plunged a quarter of the country into darkness, blocked 200 roads with fallen branches, downed 25 per cent of the trees in Kent and stopped all rail traffic in the south for twenty-four hours. An ambulance at Hayling island was hit by a yacht floating across the road and the Meteorological Office called it the worst hurricane since 1703.

[Fish's spokesman later explained: "It's really all a question of detail." In fact, technically, Fish was correct. It was not a hurricane, but an intense North Atlantic depression. "We don't get hurricanes in the West Country," one observer explained. "We get hurricane force winds."] "

All the best,

Aaron

rockm

I guess the irony being that those oaks and thousands of others withstood literally dozens of big hurricanes over the last few centuries--including Camille, which had winds in excess of 190 Mph (about 300 km per hour) back in 1969.

Ralph

Unfortunately, every living thing has it's time as nature destroys and recreates.

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Spring is upon us!


-Paul S.

rockm

Well, yeah, but that doesn't make it less of a loss.

Bonsaifreak

I realize this is a bonsai site but with all due respect I find that worrying about the fate of oak trees somewhat inappropriate in the face of great human tragedy.

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Aaron_K

Hi Bonsaifreak,

I don't think anyone is worrying about the fate of trees more than the loss of life of the people hit by the storm. Indeed there are a couple of threads on the forum expressing our thoughts and prayers to those affected by Katrina. This is more of a thread along parallel lines, about what a shame it is that magnificent trees that would have been literally hundreds of years old, are now gone.

All the best,

Aaron